Heavy subject put aside

Matthew Arkin finally made it to the party, much later than the rest of the cast of South Coast Repertory's “The Whale.” He ordered a cool, refreshing sea spray cocktail of pineapple juice, blue curacao and vodka and breathed a sigh of relief after shedding a fat suit that created the illusion of a 650-pound man who is gay and has a death wish.

“It's great to get into it because it feels like you're putting that guy on,” said the actor with the famous family (brother
Adam Arkin, father
Alan Arkin). “But it's physically demanding. When I come off stage and get out of it, I either laugh, cry or both,” he said. His performance was the talk of the party at Scott's Seafood, where the menu reflected Arkin's character's taste for junk foods: sandwiches, mashed potatoes, fried shrimp, doughnuts and bowls of candy.

The switch gently shocked Orange County's beachy “never too thin or too rich” culture, but maybe that was the point, said director
Martin Benson, a founder of SCR. “It's a beautiful play and it needs to play in every county in the country.”

Underwriters
Elizabeth and
Ryan Williams pronounced it “powerful.” Some audience members stood stunned at the ending. Board member
Wylie Aitken couldn't stop talking about it. “At times it was painful to watch, but I'm still sorting through the analogy. The whale in ‘Moby Dick' swimming innocently and being hated by Captain Ahab and it doesn't know why it's hated. It's like some people's views toward gays – they hate them and don't know why.”

Cast member
Blake Lindsley, who invited friends including screen star
Timothy Hutton to the show, praised the theater. “SCR is amazing. They've established a cutting-edge theater in a Republican stronghold,” she said.

The party remained lively as guests moved from an outdoor lounge to the bar and the buffet, the festivities a much-needed lift from the heavy subject matter. But that's what actor
Susan Claassen – who makes quite a metamorphosis of her own, often appearing as Edith Head – admired about Arkin's performance. “It's a miracle. It's transforming. And that's what theater's all about,” she said.